Young Fighter Marks First Birthday
Deputy's Daughter Battling Rare Sacral Condition Since Birth
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| Laura Watson holds her 1-year-old daughter Aaliyah while celebrating Aaliyah's first birthday. Aaliyah's father, Corey Watson, videotapes the celebration as Caleb Garrison, right, watches. |
Reprinted with persmission from the JournalNews, Hamilton, Ohio
Written by Mary Lolli
Photos by Jim Noelker
HAMILTON — December 17, 2005 — When Aaliyah Madison Watson blew out the candle on her birthday cake this week it signified more than a first birthday celebration — it marked a day her parents, Corey and Laura Watson, worried might not come.
"She looked perfect when she was born," Laura Watson said of her youngest daughter. "We counted her fingers and toes and everything was perfect."
Aaliyah's father, Corey Watson, a Butler County sheriff's deputy who works as the school resource officer for Bloomfield Elementary School in Trenton, had already called relatives to let them know he and his wife had another beautiful baby girl and everything was fine.
"No one noticed that something was terribly wrong," Laura Watson said.
The Watsons said they were still on an "emotional high" an hour after Aaliyah's birth when a nurse came into Laura Watson's hospital room and delivered devastating news.
Aaliyah was being transferred to Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati and might not make it through the night.
"It was like winning the lottery and then discovering you lost the ticket," Corey Watson said. "It was hard to process. It was hard to understand what they were telling us. We had this perfect little baby who we could lose before the night was over."
Aaliyah was born with a rare and potentially fatal condition resulting from the stunted development of the sacral, or tailbone, structure of the spine.
Called Urorectal Septum Malformation Sequence, the defect left the baby with undeveloped urinary and bowel tracts, only one kidney and a severely underdeveloped bladder.
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| Butler County Sheriff's Deputy Corey Watson watches his 1-yearold daughter Aaliyah open her birthday presents at their home in Trenton. Aaliyah was born with a rare and potentially fatal birth defect. |
It was Dec. 17, 2004, and the Watsons recalled watching helplessly as their baby was loaded onto a medical helicopter and airlifted from Christ Hospital to Children's Hospital.
"The hardest part for me was the walk back to Laura's room," Corey Watson said. "I didn't know if I had just looked at my baby girl for the last time.
"Through it all, I felt like I needed to keep myself together and be the proverbial protector and strength for the entire family," Corey Watson said.
But Laura Watson said she wasn't fooled.
"I could see that he was dying inside," she said of her husband. "We couldn't do anything but wait and pray."
And that's exactly what they did.
The Watson's were initially told that if Aaliyah survived, they could expect her to be in the hospital three to four months.
She came home in 10 days.
They were told to expect her to be put on a ventilator to assist her breathing.
That never happened.
"She was a very sick little baby, but she was also a fighter and our prayers were being heard," Laura Watson said.
Since her birth, Aaliyah has undergone four surgeries and is scheduled for a fifth 14-hour procedure in January.
The goal is to surgically construct a urinary and bowel tract that will allow Aaliyah to function as normally as possible.
"She is our miracle," Laura Watson said of Aaliyah. "The fact that she not only survived her first few weeks, but that she's recovered so well from all her surgeries is amazing. We've truly been blessed."
Aaliyah's older sister, Briana Watson, 9, agreed.
"We all spoil her," Briana said of her baby sister. "I was spoiled too, though.
"When she was still in mommy's tummy I used to read to her," Briana said. "I was so excited and I used to tell people that I was going to have a perfect little sister.
"Know what? She did come out as special as can be," Briana Watson said as she watched her baby sister climb upon a rocking toy and attempt to stand on the seat.
"She'd go all the way with it if Mom and Dad let her," Briana said as Laura Watson gently guided Aaliyah back into a safe seated position on the toy.
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| Aaliyah Watson cuddles with her new bear while her first birthday party winds down. |
"To look at her today, you would never know how sick she is," Corey Watson said of his youngest daughter. "But she has a long way to go yet.
"She's going to need all the fight she's got. It's what's going to get us all through this," he said.
Although Watson has medical insurance coverage through his job with the county, the cost of co-pays for medical visits, hospitalizations and prescription medications have taken their toll on the family's income.
"The doctors and staff at Children's Hospital have been great," Laura Watson said. "I just can't say enough for them and for the support we've gotten from the community."
Most recently, Skyline Chili along Liberty Fairfield Road sponsored a fundraiser to help the Watsons with Aaliyah's medical expenses.
In addition, the Middletown Community Foundation donated $1,000 toward the hospital expenses. Other donations have come in from private individuals.
"Every bit helps," Laura Watson said. "We've gotten down to the point of having to take our budgeted grocery money to pay medical bills."
In addition to Aaliyah and Briana, the Watsons have three foster children.
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